Seeing is believing
by Diamond Catus
Summary: Hunter's niece comes to him for help. This is my first fanfic that I've published. R & R would be nice... Chapter 4 is now posted...I wasn't sure about the rating because I mentioned some violence...It is just in case.
1. Prologue

AN: This is my first fanfic ever….I hope everybody likes it. Those who do read it, please review! I'll take any reviews…compliments or constructive criticism. I'd like to know if I can actually write or if I need to pursue another career…such as taking over the world or some such thing…..Oh, if you've already read this…..I've added commentary….if you haven't already figured that out. 

Prologue 

It started out as a normal-enough day for Catherine Hunter as she got ready to go for a morning walk. She called her dog, Quest, who immediately went to her side so she could put her harness on. Then she took hold of the handle and ordered Quest to go on the normal route. This was the normal routine for Catherine; she was blind. She had been from birth.

Normally when she went anywhere she had her two body guards, Teddy and Ben. But no one knew about her walks because she always went before anyone had wakened in the morning. Her father was part of the mob and was afraid for her safety. She was his only child and he loved her very much.

After she had been walking for about fifteen minutes, she sensed someone was following her. "Halt, Quest," she said quietly.

Quest stopped and waited for the signal to keep going. She was slightly wary, but the person had not tried to harm her mistress, so she did not give out a warning.

Catherine listened for five minutes before she resumed walking. Suddenly, Quest started barking furiously and growling. Catherine knew there was danger, so she told Quest to take her home. But the man who had been following them ran up, pushed Catherine to the ground, and took Quest with him.

"QUEST!" Catherine screamed at the top of her lungs. "Please! Give her back to me! My father will hunt you down and when he finds you, you'll be what my dog eats!" Catherine did not realize what she was saying until after she said it. She was hysterical by now, and started crying for help. "Someone please help me! My dog has been stolen! I need my dog for my eyes!"

A man nearby heard the cry for help and looked around. He saw a young girl on the ground feeling around her. He ran up to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Can you get the man who took my dog? Is he still here?"

"I'm sorry; I don't see anyone with a dog."

"No! Please!" She started crying.

How'd you like it? Is it good so far? Please review!


	2. A Happy Reunion

AN: Hi again! Here's chapter 1. I seem to be able to write pretty fast…I published the prologue earlier today and I'm already putting up the next chapter……oh……I guess I'm kinda taking elements from different episodes…(I don't remember what they're called…the one w/ the girl whose uncle was killed and pigeons were stolen and another one….I can't say which one because it would give away the next chapter)

DISCLAIMER: I do no own Hunter (unfortunately), McCall, Cain, or Tewilliger. I am just borrowing them because I love the show. I do own Catherine Hunter, Quest, Cathy's parents, and Ted and Ben, so if you want to use them, you need to ask for my permission.

A Happy Reunion 

Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter was at his desk, typing his report for a previous case he had just completed. His partner, Dee Dee McCall, came up behind him and noticed that his type writer was not working properly.

"Having trouble?" she asked teasingly.

"Do me a favor, would you?"

"No. I have typed way too many reports for you. I have my own reports to type up. You should use that thing more often so it doesn't stick."

While they were arguing about who should do the reports, a young, blind girl was at the receptionist's desk. "Excuse me, where can I find Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter?"

"He is at his desk. That is about thirty steps to your direct left."

"Thank you very much." Catherine went in the direction the receptionist had indicated with her voice. She could tell where Uncle Rick was without the directions. She heard his voice. He was complaining about writing reports. She smiled. He hadn't changed much, if at all. When she had counted thirty steps, she realized that he hadn't noticed her. _I must be behind him._ She thought.

"Excuse me; I heard that a Rick Hunter was the best cop this side of the law. Could you tell me where he is?" she said with a big grin.

Hunter recognized the voice. He turned around in surprise. "Cathy? Is that you?"

"Are you Det. Sgt. Hunter?"

"I was last time I checked." Hunter got up and gave Catherine a huge hug, picking her up off her feet. "What are you doing here? I thought you were forbidden from visiting me since I became a cop."

"You know me, always disobeying."

"Say, where's Quest? Did they make you leave her outside? I'm going to have to talk to them about that."

"Actually, she's why I came. I need your help, Uncle Rick. Someone took Quest away from me this morning. I haven't been home yet, and I need to hurry because father and mother are going to worry. You know how they are."

"Yes, I know. Oh, Cathy, this is Dee Dee. She's my partner. Dee Dee, this is Cathy, my niece."

"It's nice to meet you," Catherine said, holding out her hand to shake.

"Likewise, I'm sure." They shook hands. "Um, this is not meant to be offensive, but are you blind?"

"Yes. No offense taken. I'm asked that a lot."

"This is my favorite niece."

"Really? I thought I was your only niece." There was a teasing note to Catherine's voice.

"If you had other sisters, you would still be my favorite niece. You know that," Hunter said defensively.

"Of course. But you spoil me way too much. Before you became a cop, I was such a brat because of you."

"You're still a brat. But I can handle it."

"Thanks. Your vote of confidence is encouraging."

"You're welcome." Hunter smiled. "Come on. I'll take you home."

"Thanks, Uncle Rick."

"No problem, Cath."

They walked out of the station, arm-in-arm. Catherine was hoping that her father would not be angry that she had gone to Hunter for help.

Again, please review. They would be of great help.


	3. An Interesting Encounter

AN: It's been a little while since I posted, and I'm sorry…I wasn't able to log in on one of my computers and it was the main one that I worked on. I do have some chapters done after this one so I am working…..On with the story!

**An Interesting Encounter**

Hunter pulled up to the mansion of his brother in his falling-apart car issued by Cain. When he tried to open his door, it got stuck, so he asked Catherine to open her side.

"Well, I would be happy to, except for the fact that, uh, it won't open. I tried right after you parked."

"Oh, great! I'm going to have to climb out the window and I'll help you."

"Okay." A brief look of fear crossed Catherine's face. It was soon replaced by a look of amusement. "Why don't you get a better car?"

"The captain is determined that if I'm not going to get killed on duty, I am going to get killed from a piece of junk he likes to call a car."

Catherine laughed.

Hunter grinned and climbed out of the window. He ran around the car and helped Catherine out of her window.

"You know maybe I should just go to the door by myself. I don't want dad yelling at you."

"He's my older brother. He always yells at me. I think I'm used to it by now."

"Okay. But at least let me tell him you're here. Let me pretend that I've been here the whole time and you just came to visit."

"What if he asks about Quest? He'll know you went out without bodyguards anyways. He'll probably yell at you and then yell at me. I would rather he just yell at me."

"Okay. We'll go together."

"Works for me."

Catherine held tightly to Hunter's arm. She knew the territory, but without her dog she felt helpless. She realized that she should have memorized the area without Quest so she could go at least a few places independently. She decided she would do that until they found Quest.

When Hunter and Catherine got to the door, it was opened before they had a chance to knock. "Catherine, what are you doing? Where's Quest? What's _he_ doing here?" It was Catherine's mother.

"It's nice to see you again, too, Maria," Hunter said sarcastically.

"What is going on down here?" It was Hunter's brother. "Hunter? Why are you here? Are you here as a cop or as family? If you're a cop, you may as well just leave now. If you're here as family, come in."

"I am here on the request of Catherine. She asked me to locate Quest for her. Apparently she was taking a walk and someone attacked her."

Catherine swallowed hard as her uncle explained. She knew that she was going to have a major lecture in the very near future. She also had the feeling that her room would be guarded when she slept. "Papa, I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't be going places without Teddy and Ben, but I just needed some time to myself, and the only way I could do that was to take the walks."

"I should have known something like this would happen. I knew that bodyguards during the day wouldn't be enough. You're going to have to learn that you can't go places without some sort of protection. You can't go anywhere without Ted and Ben."


	4. Sign Here, Please

AN: I hope it's okay that I don't do the disclaimer in every chapter….

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters, except for Catherine, Quest, the bodyguards, the CPS person, and the evil villain that will pop up later. If you want to use them, you have to get through me first. Please don't hurt me too badly; I'll have to get Hunter to go after you and you really don't want that…. Or maybe you do…This fanfic is entirely fiction with fictional characters (hence fanFIC). Any similarity between these characters and people in real life or possibly another fanfic is entirely coincidental. And so on and so forth.

"**Sign Here, Please."**

Hunter went back to the police station feeling sorry for Catherine. He knew that she had his personality. They both hated going everywhere with some sort of protection. They wanted to have moments to themselves.

Wanting to help her, but knowing that his brother would forbid it, Hunter felt helpless. He had talked about what his brother's expectations of her were on the way to her house. She had told him that her father wanted her to take over the family when he and her mother died.

"_He does want me to get married to a suitable husband who will know the business. That means I have to marry one of the mob. I've been thinking of this arrangement, and I think that I want to steer away from the mob as a career. I don't want to have to carry on the legacy of killing, especially if it's to knock off people who might tell about the dealings of the underworld."_

Catherine had given a speech that Hunter had wanted to hear from at least one person in his family. He was glad that she was deciding to come to the right side of the law.

When he arrived at the station, McCall came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hunter, didn't you get the radio call? I would have thought that you would have responded immediately."

"My radio doesn't work, remember? Cain won't issue me a new car because I've totaled the other cars I've had, and unless this car stops running, I won't get a new one. He won't even let me get a new radio."

"Oh, right. Well, uh," McCall sighed. "Your brother was shot about half-an-hour ago. I think your sister-in-law got it, too. I don't know about your niece."

Hunter felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Mark was dead? And Maria? What about Cathy? He immediately turned around and ran to his car. He had to see it for himself. And if Catherine was still alive, he had to comfort her. McCall came with him and sat silently, letting him sort it out.

When they got to the house half-an-hour later, they were relieved to find that they were the first unit on the scene and that Tewilliger had not somehow weaseled himself into getting the case. Hunter would have probably done something stupid, such as throwing Tewilliger through a window.

Catherine was on the porch, waiting for someone to come. Her tear-streaked face said it all. Mark and Maria were indeed dead.

"Uncle Rick? Is that you?" That was all Catherine could say before she started crying again. Hunter immediately went up to her and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"It's going to be okay. I'll find whoever did this. They won't get away with it," he said soothingly. He had tears in his own eyes. "They won't get away with it," he said again.

McCall came up to them, paused to look at them and continued into the house to examine the evidence.

"I have to go inside and look at the evidence so that I can get whoever did this. But first I'm going to take you to my car. You stay there until I come back. I'm going to have a few questions, but right now you just sit for a while, okay?"

Catherine nodded. Her lifeless eyes just stared straight ahead. She felt herself being lifted up and carried to the car.

After Hunter put Catherine in his car, he went to the house to see what he knew he would find. When he went inside, he saw the two bodies in the living room. McCall came up to him and showed him the bullet casings that she had found.

Later, after they had gotten as much as they could find in the house, Hunter and McCall decided to go back to the police station.

When they got back, Cain was waiting for them. He told him to get into is office immediately.

"What is it now?" Hunter groaned.

"Hunter, this is Gretchen McDuff. She is from the Child Protective Services. She is going to have to take Catherine in until they can find a home for her."

"You're what! I don't think so. She's my niece. I'm her closest relative. I'll be her guardian. Show me the paperwork, and I'll fill it out."

Ms. McDuff exchanged a look with Captain Cain. She sighed and opened her briefcase. "Before I do anything, the girl has to be present."

"The 'girl' has a name. It's Catherine."

"All right, _Catherine_ has to be present. She has to see you sign the documents."

"Well, she can't see me sign the documents. She's blind."

Ms. McDuff was getting flustered by this time. "Will you please just get her in here?" she seethed.

"Okay, but I repeat, she's blind." Hunter gave one of his smiles that were meant to annoy and went to the car. "Cath, I need you to come into the station. There's someone here to see you."

"Let me guess. It's someone from CPS?"

"You got it."

"Okay, but I don't want to go to some stranger's house. I want to stay within the family."

"Mob?"

"Well, I really want to stay with you, Uncle Rick, but if you can't take me, I'll have to go back to the mob or to a foster home or Juvenile Hall."

"Well, I was just telling them that I would take you. They have the paperwork ready, but you have to be there to see me sign it. I tried to explain that you were blind, but they wouldn't listen."

"I probably have to be there so that I can't say that I never knew that you were planning on becoming my guardian and try to back out of it, though I never would."

"Maybe you can put your hand on mine so that you can know what I'm writing."

"Very funny. I think it's enough that I'm there. I hate legalities."

"Yeah, so do I."

"But you're a cop!"

"Just because I'm a cop doesn't mean I like every single solitary little-known law out there."

"True."

They reached Captain Cain's office. The CPS lady was still there, fuming over the previous conversation.

"All right, she's here. Let's get this over with."

"Catherine, you sit here. Mr. Hunter, you sign these papers."

"Works for me," both of them said it at the same time. Hunter looked at Catherine and said laughingly, "You stole my phrase!"

Catherine grinned. "What do you expect? You say it so often it just kind of rubbed off you and onto me."

"Sign here, please, Mr. Hunter."


End file.
